Match Details
Mumbai Indians v Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Sunday, 04th October
12:00 SA Time
Preview
The first game of the second double-header will witness Mumbai Indians taking the field against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Sharjah. Both the teams have had a roller coaster of a campaign and after a lacklustre start, they finally seem to have found their balance and set the team on track. Out of the 14 matches that the teams have played against each other in the history of the League, both the teams have 7 wins each to their name.
Mumbai Indians will be looking very confident as they come into the game after they put up a near perfect performance against KXIP. Starting their season with a loss against CSK, Mumbai haven’t done much wrong in their games since. They will take pride in their batting depth that scored around 80 runs in the final four overs consecutively in two matches.
Kieron Pollard has looked unstoppable with the bat, hitting the bat out of the ground at will- aided by Kishan and Pandya in the games against RCB and Punjab respectively. All of their batsmen have stepped in and played their parts as Rohit, Ishan Kishan and Pandya look in fine touch. They only cause of worry for Mumbai is the form of Quinton de Kock but on a batsman-friendly high-scoring ground like Sharjah, de Kock will look to find his groove back to cement his side in the squad.
When it comes to the bowling department, Mumbai has the luxury to play the world’s two finest fast bowlers in the form of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult who have never failed to deliver. Along with James Pattinson, Mumbai’s bowling attack looks formidable is sure to unsettle SRH batsmen. A perfect team on paper, Mumbai will be willing to extend their winning run and set the tone for the rest of their campaign.
After suffering back-to-back losses in their first two games, SRH have bounced back hard winning their next two games against DC and CSK in style. Probably the best death bowling attack in the League, they are back at doing what they do best, defending average-looking totals with complete ease. Warner’s impeccable rotation of the bowlers has brought out the best in them but their bowling will suffer a big blow as Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is likely to miss their game against MI owing to an injury that he picked in their game against CSK.
Hyderabad’s batting is often criticised as top heavy but the Indian youngsters, Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg proved the critics wrong by helping SRH to post a respectable total of 164 after being reduced to 69/4. Garg went on to score a flamboyant half-century and was also adjourned the man of the match. Their top order, that failed to fire against CSK, has otherwise looked flawless with Warner, Bairstow and Williamson, all scoring big runs and looking in good touch. Rashid Khan looks as impressive and unreadable as ever making the batsmen struggle to score runs off his overs.
Injury and Availability News
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (SRH) to miss out as he sustained an injury in the game against CSK.
Probable Playing XI
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), SuryaKumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, James Pattinson, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg, Rashid Khan, Abdul Samad, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma/Siddharth Kaul, T Natarajan
Key Players to watch out for
Kieron Pollard: A Mumbai Indians veteran, this Trinidadian all-rounder has been Mumbai Indian’s trump card this season and has been very instrumental in ensuring easy run flow at the back end of the innings with his power-hitting. Out of the four matches, he has helped Mumbai score 80 runs in the final four overs twice- against RCB and KXIP. He already has 138 runs in his three innings so far at a stunning strike rate of 212.30 At a ground like Sharjah, it will be extremely difficult for the SRH bowlers to contain him.
David Warner: One of the best white-ball batsman in the current scenario, Warner has looked in fine touch this season, however, hasn’t been able to convert his promising starts to a big score yet. He will be more than eager to free his hands and give SRH a much-needed solid start with his in-form partner Jonny Bairstow. Scoring 115 runs in the 4 matches he has played so far, he has been a shadow of the destructive batsman he truly is and will go all guns blazing at Sharjah- a ground that suits his style of batting the best.
Rashid Khan: SRH’s most consistent star-performer for quite some time now, Khan has been phenomenal in the recently concluded matches after looking a little off-coloured initially. He registered figures of 14 for 3 against DC and 12 for 0 against CSK and was Hyderabad’s key bowler in the death after being asked to defend two mediocre totals. Jadeja and Dhoni struggled to even steal singles at the death in Khan’s overs. Khan’s ability to exploit the slower ball and his unreadable variations are expected to trouble Mumbai batsmen.
Value Bets
Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma to be Mumbai Indians top batsman at 2.20
Jasprit Bumrah to be Mumbai Indians top bowler at 2.00
Sunrisers Hyderabad
David Warner to be Sunrisers Hyderabad top batsman at 2.00
Rashid Khan to be Sunrisers Hyderabad top bowler at 1.60
Prediction: Mumbai Indians to win at 0.66